Abstract
Establishment of embryonic stem cell (ESC) lines has been successful in mouse and human, but not in farm animals. Development of direct reprogramming technology offers an alternative approach for generation of pluripotent stem cells, applicable also in farm animals. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) represent practically limitless, ethically acceptable, individuum-specific source of pluripotent cells that can be generated from different types of somatic cells. iPSCs can differentiate to all cell types of an organism’s body and have a tremendous potential for numerous applications in medicine, agriculture, and biotechnology. However, molecular mechanisms behind the reprogramming process remain largely unknown and hamper generation of bona fide iPSCs and their use in human clinical practice. Large animal models are essential to expand the knowledge obtained on rodents and facilitate development and validation of transplantation therapies in preclinical studies. Additionally, transgenic animals with special traits could be generated from genetically modified pluripotent cells, using advanced reproduction techniques. Despite their applicative potential, it seems that iPSCs in farm animals haven’t received the deserved attention. The aim of this review was to provide a systematic overview on iPSC generation in the most important mammalian farm animal species (cattle, pig, horse, sheep, goat, and rabbit), compare protein sequence similarity of pluripotency-related transcription factors in different species, and discuss potential uses of farm animal iPSCs. Literature mining revealed 32 studies, describing iPSC generation in pig (13 studies), cattle (5), horse (5), sheep (4), goat (3), and rabbit (2) that are summarized in a concise, tabular format.
Highlights
Pluripotent stem cells are unspecialized cells that can evolve to all cell types of an adult organism
This review focuses on Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) generation in farm animals and summarizes the research in the field done so far
There are thousands of studies focusing on cell reprogramming in human and murine, but we found only 32 studies describing cell reprogramming in the most important mammalian farm animal species
Summary
Pluripotent stem cells are unspecialized cells that can evolve to all cell types of an adult organism. Embryonic stem cell (ESC) lines were first established in mouse [1], and subsequently in human from in vitro-derived embryos [2]. Derivation of ESCs from embryos of farm animal species was inefficient, probably due to limited knowledge about the biology of the different species ESCs (e.g. timing and isolation of primary cultures, recognition of authentic ESC, and sustaining pluripotency and propagation in culture) [3]. The discovery that specialised somatic cells can be reversed back to a non-differentiated state came several decades ago when Gurdon [5] injected frog intestinal epithelium cell nuclei into enucleated frog oocytes and showed that normal feeding tadpoles can be developed from transferred somatic cell nuclei. Proof that reprogramming of mammalian cells is possible was obtained with reproductive cloning of several species
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